El Dia de Muertos: Nico
by Account Not In Regular Use
Summary: Nico's stuck in Mexico City at the time of the Day of the Dead celebrations. Ironic, considering he's the son of Hades. He finds an crazy Mexican woman who opens his mind to forgiving. Set after the events of Titan's Curse. CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR S.O.N.


_El Día de Muertos: A time to __reflect_

**Disclaimer: I don't own any aspect of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series or the Heroes of Olympus series. All content here apart from the storyline is owned by Rick Riordan. I have included a scene from the book with some speech by Riordan, but it's from Nico's point of view, not Percy's.**

**__**_*Note: All the words in italics from here on in are Nico's thoughts, apart from the flashback and the 'Spanglish'._

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><p>When Nico di Angelo first arrived in Mexico City, he'd thought it would be a chance to get away from the trials and troubles of everyday life in America. A chance to leave behind his old life, his old fears and especially his old enemies. He plodded down the street, shoulders hunched, going over the events in his head like he had since that terrible day.<p>

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><p><em><span>Flashback to a year ago, around December.<span>_

_I sprinted to the Big House when I heard the news. The Questers were back! And, more importantly, Bianca!_

_Katie Gardner heard the news first, having got it from Chiron. Not surprising, considering she was the (mostly) level-headed counsellor of the Demeter Cabin. Being responsible, she passed on the news to the less responsible Hermes Cabin counsellors, Travis and Connor Stoll. It was only as we headed to Greek lessons that Connor thought to mention to me 'Hey kiddo. Katie told me to tell you the questers are back today. Something about your sister and the Hunters of Artemis? Anyway, they're in the Big House. Go, shoo! But be back in time for dinner, okay?'_

_I ready to jump for joy as I scrambled up the steps leading to the door. It had been two weeks since I had last seen Bianca. We had never been apart for so long, even before we got to the Lotus Casino. The parlour door couldn't open quick enough for me. I huffed and puffed my way into the parlour room, beaming at the prospect of seeing my sister again, where the questers and counsellors sat with Chiron, discussing the events of the past two weeks.  
>I scanned the room, looking for her. I could see Percy and Annabeth next to each other, as well as the counsellors from the Hephaestus and Aphrodite cabins. I think the Aphrodite girl was called Seraphina, or Silena? It was something like that. The Hephaestus dude, Beckendorf, looked huge in comparison next to her. Clarisse from Ares was slouching in her chair, scowling (as per usual) and muttering about pulverising 'That big headed freak' later. I think she could scowl for America and win if she wanted to! Finally, there were the Stoll twins, counsellors for the Hermes Cabin, the cabin I was staying in for the moment until I was determined. However , I couldn't see Bianca anywhere. My smile faded slightly.<br>'Hey! Where's…where's my sister?'  
>Percy gave a surprised look to Chiron, who didn't seem to notice. Then came a sigh. That should have warned me to what was going to happen next.<br>'Hey, Nico,' at this he got up; 'Let's take a walk, okay? We need to talk.'_

_That was when my world started to fall apart._

_I stood there in silence, trying to take it all in. Bianca was gone? That couldn't be possible, she was always there, the one constant thing in my short life._

_Percy tried to explain how she sacrificed her life for the greater good and all that rubbish. He looked away for a minute, appearing to take something out of his pocket. 'She wanted you to have this.'_

_It was a figurine of Hades, the only Mythomagic figure I didn't have. After I took it, I stared at it. As the tears slowly started creeping down my face and onto my orange camp shirt, I felt like yelling 'And this is supposed to make up for my dead sister?'_

_Later, as we were walking back to the Big House, it started snowing. It became dark and dismal, much like my mood at the time. I finally confronted him about it.  
>' You promised you would protect her.'<em>

_He flinched. I had hit a sore spot. 'Nico,' he said desperately, 'I tried.__ But Bianca gave herself up to save the rest of us. I told her not to. But she-'__  
><em>_I cut him off. 'You __**promised**__!'__  
><em>_I glared at him for good measure. He looked really panicky. My fist curled around the Hades statue as I slowly said 'I shouldn't have trusted yo__u.' My voice broke with grief. 'You lied to me. My nightmares were right!'__  
><em>_He looked confused at this. 'Wait. What nightmares?'__  
><em>_They came flooding back. The tortured screams, the dry sand, the boiling hot sun, everything. I threw the mini statue to the gro__und, listening to the hollow clatter against the icy marble. __  
><em>_'I hate you!'__  
><em>_  
><em>_He tried his best to offer kind words, but none of it meant anything to me. How could he know what it's like to lose someone who you care about?__  
><em>_After that a bunch of these creepy__ skeleton guys came out. I had never seen them before, but my gut feeling was that I had somehow summoned them. I pushed the blame onto Percy, who seemed to recognise them by immediately drawing his sword. __  
><em>_I accused him of trying to kill me. He admitted t__o knowing they had followed him. I started to run, wishing the skeletons would just fall down a hole.__  
><em>_I looked back. They had miraculously disappeared, and Percy was staring at me. __  
><em>_'How did you-'__  
><em>_'GO AWAY! I HATE YOU! I WISH YOU WERE DEAD!'__  
><em>_I ran away fro__m him again, but this time it was for good._

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><p><em>Percy. He promised me that he would get my sister back to camp. When he broke that promise, he took away my world.<em>  
>It was too hard to remember the pain. He staggered a little, wiping away the tears that had formed in his eyes. <em>Stupid, arrogant, selfish Percy! Gods, how I hate him. He saw how much I relied upon my sister. And Zoe. Zoe, Zoe, Zoe. The cause of my problems. Oh, why did she have to persuade Bianca to join the Hunters of Artemis? Why couldn't she just <em>_have left us alone?_

As he continued walking down the street, occasionally stopping to glance at the nearby shops, he heard music. Spanish music. Later, as the music continued, Nico became more curious as to why it was playing. It was an ordinary winter day after all, wasn't it?

He saw a parade coming towards him, and jumped back. What was this all about?  
>He pulled over one of the followers. 'What is going on? Why is there a parade in the city?'<p>

The old woman gave him a disbelieving look. 'Why, _chico,_ you must be a foreigner. Everyone in Mexico knows today is _El Dia de Muertos!_' It is one of the celebrations _mas grandes en el año!'_

El Dia de Muertos. The day of the dead. What sort of people would celebrate dead people?

Nico questioned the lady further, curious to learn more. 'What do you do? What is it about?'  
>The old lady laughed, a delicate sound, much like a wind chime. 'Ah, <em>chico<em>, it is the day we celebrate the lives of our relatives, _amigos _and ancestors. We hold a parade filled with many colours to represent the joy in living. We also go visit the graves of our dead and honour them with small gifts and their favourite food. _Si,_ we also collect toys for _los angelitos_. So sad,_ ¿Por qué? _For the adults it is _muy_ popular to bring tequila.' At this the woman started to cough. 'I have spent too much time chatting with you. Look, the parade has moved on without me! _Adios, chico, _and don't forget me…'

Her voice faded into the distance as she slowly got further away to catch up with the parade, leaving Nico with some time to think. _A day for the dead, huh? Might as well join in the traditions. After all, they say when you live in Rome…_

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><p>Three hours later, as the evening sun was starting to set, Nico set out his stuff by an old, gnarled tree. It seemed to be struggling, but it was living. Nico propped up his makeshift tombstone, a piece of wood, against the side of the tree. He got out the Mediterranean pasta that his sister had loved so much as a child and placed it next to the 'tombstone'. He reached into the rucksack he had been carrying from when had been in Santiago and got out the soda Bianca used to drink. He thought it was terrible, but she thought otherwise.<p>

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><p><em><span>Flashback, approximately 3 days before they were discovered<span>_  
>'<em>Come on, Nik, give it a try. You may like it!'<em>_  
>'Bianca, I didn't like it then and I definitely don't like it now! It's just too…sweet!'<em>_  
>'Just like your sister, then, eh?' She turned around to give Nico a hug. 'Let's stop arguing and go explore the school again. We can meet up with our friends and discuss the prom that's coming up! Gosh, I'm SO excited about that! Come on and stop being stubborn, we'll go to the common room. Everyone else will be there...'<br>Nico, shrugging, followed his sister down the corridor, glancing at the pictures. Looking at them, his first thought was, 'God, this school must be REALLY old...' _

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><p><em><em>Finally, he rummaged around in his bag for something else._ Where is it? I swear I saw it minutes ago…Aha!_ After a while of searching, Nico found what he was looking for. Holding it carefully, so he wouldn't tangle it, he brought out the small silver bracelet. It was similar to one that Bianca had owned previously. _I hope you like it, Bianca._

He sat there, admiring his handiwork. It wasn't as good as a normal grave, but it would have to do. It had turned dark now, casting eerie shadows around the tree; almost as if the dead were there. Nico prayed there for a while: not to the Greek Gods and his father, but the Catholic God that his mother had worshipped.  
>'In the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit, I ask of you to make sure my sister is safe in heaven, or the Greek equivalent. I know you probably don't have control over Elysium in the Underworld, but please, let my sister enjoy death as she didn't have the chance to in life. Amen.'<p>

Satisfied with his prayer, he said a quick thanks to Hades and soon dozed off to sleep. Little did he know that Bianca was watching him…

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><p><em><span>In Elysium<span>_

'_Look, Father, he seems happier now than he has since I died. I think he has finally accepted the truth and is now recovering.' Bianca smiled at Hades._

'_You may be right, child. My son has started to let go of his anger and resentment towards Camp Half-Blood. Although his fatal flaw may be holding grudges, he seems to have let go of this one. A good thing, really, because I sense that the other demigods will need his help in the near future…'  
><em>

_Hades sat there for a while in deep thought. Bianca was the first to break the silence. 'What does the future hold for Nico? Is he going to return to camp?'_

'_Not exactly. I can't give it away. He will return, but he won't stay. I have other jobs for him to do…'_

'_Like what, father? What could be so important that Nico has to miss training to fight?'_

_Hades sighed. 'Bianca, there's something I have to tell you. You know that we gods have a Greek and a Roman form, right?'  
>Bianca nodded in understanding. 'Yes, but what does that have to do with it?'<br>'I never told your mother about my Roman form, Pluto. See, around the time you were born, a Roman demigod with Pluto as a father was born as well. I never told you about her, as we gods had an agreement that we had made years earlier. We agreed we would never tell the Greek demigods about the Roman demigods, and vice versa. There have been problems in the past when they have encountered each other. So, to keep all our children safe, we wiped all memory of the other camp from the demigods' minds. The only people who can remember the other camp besides us gods are Chiron, who you know, and Lupa, the director of the other camp.'_

_Bianca stared at Hades in shock. 'How do I know you aren't lying?'_

'_My other daughter suffered a similar fate to you. She also "died" when she was twelve. She's stuck in the Fields of Asphodel. Her name is Hazel Levesque. She was born at the wrong time. She is part of another prophecy. Nico will bring her back to Earth, and she'll go to the Roman camp, Camp Jupiter. Then-'_

'_Camp Jupiter? Where's that?' Bianca butted in, curious to learn more about this hidden past._

_Hades looked confused for a minute, then shook his head. 'I've said too much. Promise you won't tell Nico, alright?'_

'_I promise.'_

'_Swear on the River Styx.'_

_Bianca sighed in frustration. 'Really?' Hades gave her a look. 'Fine. I swear on the River Styx that I will not tell Nico about what we just talked about.'  
>Hades smiled in satisfaction.<em>

Nico remained sleeping for a while. When he woke up, he felt better than he had for a long time. Relaxed, he decided maybe it was time to return to camp. Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.

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><p><strong>AN: So, there you are. My one-shot writing debut is finished! Hope you liked it, and feel free to review with your thoughts on it. I am willing to listen to criticism, but please don't flame it. This is my first piece on , so please take that into consideration when reviewing. Also, please don't complain how there's no romance in there. Not all stories have to include that sort of love! So, sorry for rambling on, but I have one last comment: Happy 2012! Munchme :) x**


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